One of the three men involved in the chase that killed a Bluffton police officer pleaded not guilty to the charges he is facing in Medina County.
19-year-old Dante Tate entered the not guilty plea on the charges of receiving stolen property and failure to follow the order of a police officer during a video arraignment in Medina County common pleas court this morning. They also set a July jury trial for this case.
Law enforcement says Tate stole a car from a home in the Bluffton area and drove it east where he was finally arrested in Medina County. Tate is also facing complicity in receiving stolen property, improper handling of firearms in a vehicle, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and receiving stolen property in Hancock County. He will not be brought back to Hancock County to face those charges until his case in Medina is closed.
Emin Johnson and Zachary Love were arraigned in Hancock County last week. Johnson is facing involuntary manslaughter and aggravated vehicular homicide for allegedly driving the car that struck and killed Officer Dominic Francis who was attempting to deploy stop sticks to disable their vehicle that was in a police chase on I-75 on March 31st.
